Below is a list of research related to attendance
The reports on this page are listed chronologically and examine the issue of chronic absence nationwide and in selected communities. Use the search box to find research using the first few words of the paper title. See the early education, elementary, secondary and other research categories on the right. To submit new research, please contact us.
Monitoring Who Is Missing Too Much School: A Review of State Policy and Practice in School Year 2021-22
Monitoring Who Is Missing Too Much School: A Review of State Policy and Practice in School Year 2021-22, by Attendance Works. This brief examines how state policies and practices continue to evolve in light of the pandemic. It’s based upon data provided by 45 states plus the District of Columbia as of early May 2022. The brief shows positive developments…
The Thin Blue Line in Schools: New Evidence on School-Based Policing Across the U.S.
Lucy C. Sorensen, et al., Annenberg Institute, Brown University. In this working paper, researchers use national school-level data to estimate the impacts of sworn law enforcement officer (SRO) presence in public schools. The study finds that SROs increase chronic absenteeism, particularly for students with disabilities, and intensify the use of suspensions, expulsions, police referrals, and arrests of students. These latter effects…
Chronic Absence Patterns and Prediction During Covid-19: Insights from Connecticut
Chronic Absence Patterns and Prediction During Covid-19: Insights from Connecticut, by Attendance Works and the Connecticut State Department of Education, analyzes how patterns of chronic absence in the state differ across learning modes, grades and student groups. It offers insights from the analysis that can be used for Covid-19 educational recovery efforts and attendance initiatives, and recommendations that other states…
The Arts Advantage: Impacts of Arts Education on Boston students
Bowen, Daniel H., and Kisida, B., EdVestors. This scholarly investigation finds that access to arts education in Boston Public Schools has consistent positive effects on student attendance with effects notably stronger for students who have a history of chronic absenteeism. The study found that arts education increases student and parent school engagement, and has modest effects on student achievement, particularly…
Exploring an Unexamined Source of Racial Disparities in Juvenile Court Involvement: Unexcused Absenteeism Policies in U.S. Schools
McNeeley, Clea, and Alemu Besufekad, et. al., AERA Open, Vol. 7, Jan.-Dec. 2021. This two-part study explored whether discrimination encoded into U.S. school absenteeism policies leads to racially minoritized students being overrepresented in the juvenile court system.
Using Behavioral Insights to Improve School Administrative Communications: The Case of Truancy Notifications
Lasky-Fink, Jessica, Carly D. Robinson, Hedy Nai-Lin Chang and Todd Rodgers. Harvard Kennedy School, March 2018. Truancy notifications often use long passages of punitive legal jargon that are confusing and threatening to families. By randomly assigning parents to receive a modified truancy notification with simplified language and constructive information, the researchers saw a reduction in absenteeism.
The Grade-Level and Cumulative Outcomes of Absenteeism
Gottfried, M. and Ansari, A., Child Development. This study examined the grade-level and cumulative outcomes of school absenteeism between kindergarten and fifth grade for students’ school performance in the U.S. Researchers found that students who were more frequently absent in any year of elementary school demonstrated lower academic, executive function and socioemotional outcomes.